Sasser, born Oct. 25, 1968, entered the public consciousness on the 1994 edition of the MTV reality series, in which several young people share a house. He was the boyfriend of cast member Pedro Zamora, one of the first openly gay men on American television, whose struggle with AIDS was chronicled on the show. Zamora died of AIDS-related causes Nov. 11, 1994, a day after the final episode aired. He and Sasser had exchanged commitment vows on that finale, a televised first.

Sasser, who remained active in AIDS awareness, later lived in Portland, Ore. He recently moved to Washington, D.C., where Kaplan had taken a job running the nonprofit organization AIDS United and Sasser found work as a pastry chef at the restaurant Ris. Kaplan told CNN the two had dated off and on for years since the 1990s, but moved in together about six years ago. Kaplan said his remains would be cremated.